Public Health Report: Shaping Health in Hawaii – The Influences of Poverty, Housing and Food Insecurity

I listened to the report and to a certain extent I do agree. Let start of by saying I am part white, but I am also Filipino and part spainish from my mother’s side. She was raised in the Honolulu Salvation Army until age 18. She married a military and the family left Hawaii when I was 3 (born 1947) and left the family at 16, rented an apartment and worked two part-time jobs while finishing high at Castle High in 1965. Bottom line, I did two years college, but did not graduate, and had to sign up for Army National Guard, graduated from Officers School in 1970. These are issues I overcame by making decisions that allowed to move up in life, but making use of what God gave me. I understand that opportunities are different today that when I grew up. Jobs no longer exist like working at service station and learning about cars. Today the fast food industry has replaced jobs that taught kids how to use their hands. Technology has also hurt this generation, because social skills are lost to many because of cell phone, and computerization that promotes gaming, To me those the lower income scale are affected most. I could say much more, but I just wanted bring the point that in my era we had to make ends meet, today the babyboomers gave their children a better life because we faced a different world without drugs and technology distractions. These items helped change the environment for today’s children. No draft to worry about, the young males don’t get to learn the value discipline. Today at early age, everyone gets a trophy without really excelling, yes there many great kids today, but the lower of the economic scale parents are too busy working in Hawaii to afford the family responsibilities that help the succeed in life. Technology is good, but it has also hurt the younger generations.